May 20, 2010

Daley: City ready to act if Supreme Court overturns gun ban

Posted by Hal Dardick and John Byrne at 10:05 a.m.; last updated at 1:55 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley today rejected the idea that the Supreme Court is likely to overturn the city's gun ban, but said that he will be ready to act quickly to put in place restrictions on gun ownership if it does.

It's defeatist to prepare new gun laws ahead of the court's ruling, which should come before the body recesses at the end of June, Daley said.

"You have to have confidence in the Supreme Court, Maybe they'll see the light of day," Daley said at a City Hall news conference. "Maybe one of them will have an incident and they'll change their mind overnight, going to and from work."

The mayor said if the court overturns the Chicago ban, as expected, he'll quickly present new legislation to the City Council.

"Whatever the details of the court's ruling will be, we will always find new ways to keep guns off our streets," he said.

Daley offered no specifics on what he will propose. But he talked about the possibility of ballistics tests for registered guns, so police can track them if they're used in crimes.

He also said that if guns are allowed in Chicago, something has to be done to allow police, firefighters and other first responders know how many weapons are in a home as they respond to a call.

"If you get a call for domestic violence, or you get a call for a burglary, or you get a call that a man with a gun is outside someone's home, and the police officer goes to the scene, goes to the door and sees a person with a gun, what decision does he have to make with regards to his safety and the safety in that home?" Daley said.

"When you think about that, you're really placing the first responders in a much more difficult -- with all the restrictions on police officers, what they can do and what they can't do -- we'll have to give them a worksheet for them, where they'll have to read it to you, take your FOI card out?"

During the news conference, Daley reacted with the help of a prop when a reporter suggested the city's handgun ban has been ineffective, given the number of shootings that still occur in Chicago.

"It's been very effective," Daley said, picking up a gun from the dozens displayed on a nearby table. "If I put this up your butt, you'll find out how effective it is. Let me put a round up your, you know."

"But that's why you want to get them out," he continued. "You want to get these out. This gun saved many lives. It could save your life."

The mayor mentioned the possibility of some kind of registry to let police know how many guns and what types are in each house, but said nothing has been finalized.

In 1982, the city barred the registration of additional handguns, but allowed those residents who already had handguns to keep them. That ordinance became known as the city’s handgun ban.

In June 2008, the nation's high court overturned a similar ban in
Washington, D.C.. and justices are now weighing a Chicago case
that will determine whether that ruling should be extended beyond
federal enclaves.

Supreme Court justices are expected to rule next month on McDonald vs. City of Chicago. The court heard arguments March 2 on the case. At the time, Tribune Supreme Court reporter David G. Savage reported that most of the justices who two years ago said the 2nd Amendment protects individual gun rights signaled they are ready to extend this right nationwide and to use it to strike down some state and local gun regulations. You can read the rest of that story by clicking here.

In the D.C. case, justices did not close the door on all gun
regulation, and D.C. later enacted a law requiring gun owners to go
through five hours of safety training, register their firearms every
three years and undergo criminal background checks every six years.

More extensive training requirements for gun owners -- such as that enacted in Washington D.C. -- also is a possibility, Daley said.

"We'll work harder to make sure only responsible adults can have access to guns across the nation," Daley said. "When you think about that, you have to go through driver's ed and you have to get a license, you have to pass a test for drivers, but you don't have to really do anything to own a gun," he said.

Preserving the handgun ban has been high on Daley's agenda during
his two decades as mayor. For years, Daley also has pressed state
lawmakers for tighter gun control laws, including an assault weapons
ban,but has found only limited success in a state where gun owner rights are closely guarded downstate.

Comments

I know it is hard for people to understand (Daley and the anti's) but the Constitution states clearly that we have the RIGHT to keep and bear arms and that it SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. This means that any laws that infringe this are illegal and unconstitutional.

It is sad when kids, officers or anyone gets killed with a gun, but what about the person that just got killed with a Bat? Do we ban bats next.

Freedoms should not be taken away from law abiding Citizens. If you are willing to give up any of your rights for security or because the government says so than you are not worthy to be a U.S. Citizen.

All gun bans, registration, training courses or anything of the sort that infringes on your right to keep and bear arms need to be overturned and gotten rid of.

"Driving a car is a privilege, owing a firearm is a right if you are an American citizen, not a felon and so on.."
NO!...Driving a car is a right!.....The claim that it is not mentioned in the Constitution is a sad take that many Americans do not really understand their own Bill of Rights....If you truly believe that driving is a privilege, then you also must believe that the internet is also a privilege (meaning that the government can control the internet, ANYWAY it sees fit).....After all, the internet is not mentioned in the Constitution, is it?....

Tell me that the guys that just murdered Chicago Police Officer Tommy Wortham followed the mayor's laws. Tell me they had a FOID card. Tell me that the gun was registered. Tell me they took shooting classes. Tell me that the judicial system works and these guys had previous gun charges yet were out; one with a mere 18 months probation. He can put all the restrictions he wants on law abiding citizens to restrict them and their right to protect themselves but it's not going to stop the violence of the criminals who disregard any and all laws.

Had the father of Tommy Wortham not been a retired police Sgt; able to have guns, these guys would have gotten away unscathed and the murderers may have never been found. At least they know who two of the murderers are BECAUSE of a gun used in a lawful manner by a lawful citizen...Mr. Wortham.

Mayor Daley should get his lapdog Jody 'J-Fled' Weis to scratch the new statistic of "indoor" and "outdoor" homicides and create a new one for handgun shootings committed by holders and non-holders of the Illinois Firearm Owners Identification Card or FOID card.

I'm willing to bet Daley as the king of this glorious workers' socialist paradise better known as Chicago won't like the end result and sweep those statistics under the rug like he did with Weis' approval rating with the rank and file Chicago police officers.

When the Supreme Court stikes this unfair to honest law abiding citizens law down, the first thing that my wife and I will do is be properly trained in the safe use of a hand gun, and exersize our Constitutionally protected right to own one. Or two.

Northern city dwellers and the 40 and under crowd sure are uptight about this. I was raised in a midwestern city; every family had a gun, everyone knew how to use it, no one ever got shot. Whether people like it or not, the Constitution is pretty clear and the courts have finally agreed it is an individual right. I believe in responsible gun ownership and responsible gun control; i.e. assault weapons should be banned.

But comments like gun ownership and the NRA are un-American and let's just do a $1,500 levy and $5 bullets just makes people look ignorant and ridiculous as it would also be struck down- not to mention you'd buy it somewhere else. Is the current ban keeping guns out of the hands of bad guys now?

I don't know why anyone would want to live in the city of Chicago anyway as it is just nasty even walking down the street, but if you do live there you should have the same Constitutional protections as any other US citizen and frankly I can't understand why even the most liberal of liberals doesn't fight for all Constitutional protections. It just baffles me.

"You have to have confidence in the Supreme Court, Maybe they'll see the light of day," Daley said at a City Hall news conference. "Maybe one of them will have an incident and they'll change their mind over night, going to and from work."

Yeah, maybe walkin' home from da grocery store, or walkin' da dog. Maybe they'll have an "incident, yeah an incident...

I realize that Daley is not as stupid as he sounds when it comes to his blabbering about guns. However, there was a tragedy initiated when people walked up to an off duty policeman, in order to steal his motorcycle. This type of action is already against the law. Rather than deal with the circumstances, Daley goes off on gun control. He is doing the criminals a favor.

He is obviously going, shall we be kind, a bit, well, you know...silly.

Can't ANYONE help this man?

He has bizarre delusions about what his legitimate authority is. Please, PLEASE, help him....

The SCOTUS will rule as it will, likely re-affirms the rights he has long-sought to deny through a singularly bizarre list of local gun laws and (mostly) prohibitions---mostly NEVER enforced. If you doubt how truly odd they are, read them, they go on for something like 15 pages or so.

Go to the Chicago Police Department at 3510 South Michigan Avenue where ALL legally owned firearms are required to be registered in Chicago on a yearly basis. Behind the counter you will CLEARLY see a sign posted that states "The Chicago Police Department will abide with any ruling that the Supreme Court passes down".

This is not, nor will it ever be Mayor "Dictator" Daley's right to infringe on whatever decision the Supreme Court passes down in relation to the ruling.

Too many years of ruling Chicago as his own personal totalitarian government experiment have obviously gone to Daley’s head.

Here's a 2 bird one stone idea:
You can have your gun, but to have a gun in the city, whether a visitor or a resident, you must pay a yearly $1500 gun registration fee. Also, every bullet gets a $5 sales tax. Every bullet, not every box. If you have bullets without paying the tax, you must pay the tax and a $100 penalty per bullet.
If you have a gun in the city without paying the registraion fee, thats a decade in the slammer.
Budget fixed, the NRA folks get their fix and everyone's cool.

Posted by: jl | May 20, 2010 at 04:58 PM

JL --

Here's another idea: how about we tax every Leftist $1 for every asinine statement they make in exercising their Constitutionally protected right to free speech? We'd balance the budget, eliminate the national debt, and pay for socialized medicine within a year.

The problem with your tripe is that the politicians selectively enforce their inane gun laws. Enjoy your stroll with the mayor on the south and near west sides this summer! No security detail, no Kevlar vest, just you in all of your Leftist glory.

Mayor Daley raises a specious claim concerning first responders. It shows that the good mayor is willing to waste taxpayer monies pursuing legislation which will be challenged in court and ultimately found to be illegal.

Regardless of any form of gun registration, illegal tax which raises the burden on the legal gun owner, any first responder to a scene of domestic violence has the same expectation of a potential weapon present.

Mayor Daley has to face the facts that his view on gun ownership is wrong.
He can no longer pretend that banning gun ownership reduces the amount of violent crime in Chicago. The criminals who have guns don't care about the laws in the first place.

If the Supreme Court overturns the ban, Mayor Daley wants a registry of known handguns available to police and other first responders. Sounds like a good idea in concept. My question is this...Since 1982, have police and first responders been provided with this same "registry" information for the people who were allowed to keep their guns 28 years ago? Has the city kept tabs on all of those people and their weapons? They've had plenty of time to get that info keyed into their systems. I think not.

On the other hand, a ballistics registry sounds like an excellent and do-able idea.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

Past posts

Clout has a special meaning in Chicago, where it can be a noun, a verb or an adjective. This exercise of political influence in a uniquely Chicago style was chronicled in the Tribune cartoon "Clout Street" in the early 1980s. Clout Street, the blog, offers an inside look at the politics practiced from Chicago's City Hall to the Statehouse in Springfield, through the eyes of the Tribune's political and government reporters.